1929 World Series
In the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in five games. The famous "Mack Attack" occurred in 1929, named for the legendary manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, in which the Athletics overcame an eight-run deficit by scoring ten runs in the seventh inning of Game 4. The inning featured an infamous Cubs moment when center fielder Hack Wilson lost Mule Haas' fly ball in the sun resulting in a bases-clearing, inside-the-park home run, although the A's still trailed 8–7 at that point. Righties only Because seven of the eight regulars in the Cubs' batting order hit right-handed, the only exception being first baseman Charlie Grimm, Athletics manager Connie Mack decided that he would start only right-handed pitchers against the Cubs, and keep his left-handers in the bullpen, even though two of his best starters, Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg, were southpaws. Accordingly, Game 1 featured a surprise start by aging A's pitcher Howard Ehmke, whose record thirteen strikeouts bested Ed Walsh's record from 1906 by one, and stood until Carl Erskine broke it by one in 1953. Ehmke would also start Game 5, but failed to get out of the fourth inning in that one. Summary AL Philadelphia Athletics (4) vs. NL Chicago Cubs (1) Matchups Game 1 Tuesday, October 8, 1929 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois The 35-year-old Ehmke's first-game appearance was no sentimental move by Mack. The pitcher was considered to be over the hill; he'd won only seven games, pitched only two complete games, and worked a total of 55 innings in the regular season. Mack chose Ehmke over Grove or Earnshaw because he thought the hard-hitting Cubs would find Ehmke's pitches baffling, and that with Ehmke's sidearm delivery they would have trouble picking up the ball against the white-shirted fans in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. He was proven right, as Ehmke struck out thirteen Cubs, a Series record that would stand until 1953. Howard had spent the last few weeks of the season scouting the Cubs. (Sources: Lee Allen, The American League Story, 1961; Glenn Dickey, The History of American League Baseball, 1981) Among those in attendance at the game was 9-year-old John Paul Stevens, who would grow up to become a Supreme Court Justice. A lifelong Cubs fan, Stevens later said, "And that was my first game, a tragic game for a young boy to go and see in person!"Terry Stephan, "A Justice For All" (sidebar: "Diehard Cubs Fan", Northwestern Magazine, Spring 2009. p. 17. Game 2 Wednesday, October 9, 1929 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois Jimmie Foxx became the first player to homer in his first two World Series games. Game 3 Friday, October 11, 1929 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game 3 had a strong showing of two defensive teams at their best and classic pitchers duel was also present at this nail bitter. Game 4 Saturday, October 12, 1929 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sticking to his righties-only policy, Mack rolled the dice again in Game 4 by starting 45-year-old Jack Quinn. Unlike Ehmke, however, Quinn was no challenge to the Cubs hitters, who torched him for seven runs before Mack pulled him in the sixth inning, setting the stage for the "Mack Attack" in the bottom of the seventh. After Wilson's miscue on Haas' hit, an unknown fan wrote lyrics to "My Old Kentucky Home" beginning with "The sun shone bright into poor Hack Wilson's eyes..." and ended "So we'll sing one song for the game and fighting Cubs, for the record whiffing Cubs far away." Manager McCarthy, of course, was not in a jovial mood. When a boy came by after the game asking for a baseball, Marse Joe muttered, "Come back tomorrow, and stand behind Wilson, and you'll be able to pick up all the balls you want!" (Source: Baseball's Greatest Managers, 1961) The 8–0 deficit overcome by the Athletics is the largest in playoff history."On cue, Drew caps remarkable Sox rally" by Ian Browne, mlb.com. Game 5 Monday, October 14, 1929 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mack gave Howard Ehmke his second start of the Series, but without the advantage of surprise and without the white shirts in center field, he was not nearly as effective, being touched for two runs and taken out in the fourth inning. The A's rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Mule Haas tied the game with a two-run homer, and after a double by Al Simmons and an intentional walk of Jimmie Foxx, Bing Miller hit a walk-off single, scoring Simmons to end the game and the Series. (Source: Glenn Dickey, The History of American League Baseball, 1981) Composite box 1929 World Series (4–1): Philadelphia Athletics (A.L.) over Chicago Cubs (N.L.) |}} Notes References *Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 128–131) *Reichler, Joseph, ed. (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.), p. 2137. MacMillian Publishing. ISBN 0-02-579010-2. * External links * 1929 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com * [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1929 1929 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)] * 1929 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com * 1929 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org * Public domain film footage from the series Category:World Series World Series Category:Philadelphia Athletics Category:Chicago Cubs